The Great Care Company Lincolnshire North

Updated 24 October 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

Our inspection was conducted by an inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type:

The Great Care Company Lincolnshire North is a domiciliary care service, registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. The service operates primarily in Lincolnshire with a smaller satellite service in North Yorkshire. Shortly before our inspection, the registered provider (‘the provider’) had submitted an application to establish a new, separately-registered service in North Yorkshire. At the time of our inspection, this application was being considered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

There were two managers – one in Lincolnshire and one in North Yorkshire. Each had recently applied to become a registered manager with (CQC). Registered managers, along with the provider, are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection, both applications were being considered by CQC.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the start of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that senior staff would be available to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 9 September 2019 and ended on 17 September 2019. We visited the office location on 12 and 17 September 2019.

What we did:

In planning our inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service. This included any notifications (events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about). We also used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During our inspection we spoke with six people to ask about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with three family members, the manager of the Lincolnshire area of operation (‘the manager’), one of the directors of the registered provider (‘the director’), two home care assistants and one social care professional who had knowledge of the service.

We reviewed a range of written records including four people’s care plans, three staff recruitment files and information relating to staff training and the auditing and monitoring of service provision.

Updated 24 October 2019

About the service:

The Great Care Company Lincolnshire North is a domiciliary care service. It is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes in the community, including older people and people living with dementia. The service operates primarily in Lincolnshire with a smaller satellite operation in North Yorkshire.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

At the time of our inspection, 51 people were receiving a personal care service.

People’s experience of using this service:

The provider was exceptionally kind and caring and often went far beyond formal contractual requirements to promote people's welfare and happiness. Staff understood people’s individual care needs and preferences and used this knowledge to provide them with flexible, responsive support. Staff worked in a non-discriminatory way and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and independence.

The provider took care to involve people and their relatives in planning and reviewing their care and to deploy staffing resources in accordance with their individual preferences. People were provided with food and drink of their choice which met their nutritional requirements.

Staff worked together in a mutually supportive way and communicated effectively, internally and externally. Training and supervision systems were in place to provide staff with the knowledge and skills they required to meet people’s needs effectively.

Staff worked collaboratively with local health and social care services to ensure people had access to any support they required. Systems were in place to ensure effective infection prevention and control and people's medicines were managed safely in line with their individual needs and preferences.

Staff were aware of people’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and supported people to have maximum choice and control of their lives, in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s individual risk assessments were reviewed and updated to take account of changes in their needs. Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns to keep people safe from harm. Staff recruitment practice was safe.

The senior team provided open, democratic leadership and was respected and admired by staff. A number of audits was in place to monitor the quality and safety of service provision.

There was organisational learning from significant incidents and concerns or complaints were well-managed. The provider was actively committed to the continuous improvement of the service in the future.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected:

The service was registered with the Care Quality Commission in September 2018. This was our first inspection of the service.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.